Luck, or Lack Thereof
by kawaiigami
Summary: Roxas helps Axel deal with a run of bad luck. AU, Rating for language.


**Disclaimer**: I know better than to say these characters belong to me. Axel would fry me if I did.

Written for the community springkink on LJ. Hope you enjoy!

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Luck, or Lack Thereof

There are days, Axel thinks, when Lady Luck is a conniving bitch that's out to get you.

It had definitely begun as a day that would prove Axel's theory. First, the alarm clock suddenly decided not to work, meaning he woke up at the time class started (Damn neighbors playing loud music until all hours. Axel considered himself a night person but those whackjobs took the expression to a whole new level.). Then, for some reason, the car died on him without warning and for no apparent reason. Scratch that, it wouldn't even start, which, in a way, was better than suddenly breaking down in the middle of nowhere, but still fucking lame no matter what way you looked at it.

"Come on, don't do this to me," he muttered, turning the key in the ignition. No dice. Repeated attempts, using words that would have earned him a mouth washing once upon a time, got the same result. Damn. Axel _hated_ having to take the car in for work. Not just for the temporary lack of car and dent in his wallet, but the guy who ran the shop could outdo anyone in a creative insults contest and was a hardass, even if he and the other workers were damn good at what they did.

Just as bad, if not in some ways worse, was the fact that now he would never get to class in time, and there was that paper due today. Axel's was finished (homosexual themes in Shakespeare, fun topic), and he'd hoped to slip into class unnoticed, with at least enough time to hand it in. Even if he shifted car issues to the back burner for now and took the bus to campus, he'd get there after class ended. Shit. His grade could not take the hit from points docked due to lateness. Maybe he could send the paper as an attachment to an email explaining the situation. The lecture he'd get in return would almost be worth it if the prof was willing to consider the paper on time.

_Email it is_, he decided, and got out of the car and hurried back towards the building. Barely watching where he was going, he only just missed crashing into someone. "Sorry."

"No prob." Something familiar about the voice made Axel take a second glance at his near-crashee. His eyes widened a bit when he realized he knew the kid—the name escaped him at the moment but it was someone that had been in his calc class last semester. Roxas or something like that. Who, just now had raised his eyebrows questioningly. Damn. Too late, Axel realized he'd probably been staring.

"Right, like I said, sorry." Axel said. Then, getting an idea, he smiled a bit awkwardly. "You heading to campus?"

The ride to campus would have been too quiet if the radio hadn't been on. Roxas (Axel _had_ remembered the name right) apparently wasn't much of one for starting conversations with people he didn't know well, even if they were sharing car space, and most of Axel's attempts to get him talking were met with short answers and no attempts to return the favor. The only information Axel managed to pull out of him, aside from his name, were that he was a sophomore, an English major, and taking a creative writing class that met right after Axel's Shakespeare class—in the same room, even. The first time Roxas spoke voluntarily was when they arrived to find the parking lot almost deserted.  
"Weird. Usually this place is packed by now." He said, frowning a little and checking his watch.

"Who cares? Less legwork for us." Axel grinned. At this rate, he'd make it to class with a decent amount of time to spare. "Thanks for the lift." He called over his shoulder as he got out and made a break for the English building.

"No way. No. Fucking. Way."

Axel stopped short at the door to his classroom. His currently empty classroom. Had they left early for some reason? There were at least ten minutes left of class, so where the hell was everyone? He checks the other classrooms. All empty.

"Axel? What are you doing?" Roxas's voice comes from behind him, making him jump and turn so they're facing each other. Before Axel could respond, Roxas held up a piece of paper. "Didn't you see the sign on the door?"

Axel blinked. He had noticed two pieces of paper taped to the door, but hadn't really looked at them in his hurry. "No, why?"

Roxas sighed "You might have saved yourself some trouble."

"You're shitting me." Axel grabbed the paper from Roxas. Written in bold letters easy for anyone to read were the day's date, and the fact that classes were cancelled due to Day of Gracious Living. He looked back up at Roxas. "Did you know about this?" He asked accusingly. Not that he thought Roxas did, but, well. He was understandably more than a little pissed about getting worked up for no reason and needed to vent.

Roxas rolled his eyes. "Yeah, I always haul myself to campus when there's no class." His tone dripped sarcasm. "What do you think, Axel?"

Axel groaned. "I think I'm going to kill whoever sets up this thing. Don't they send out emails, too?"

"Yeah, but that doesn't help much if you don't check your mailbox, genius."

"Hey,_genius_, you didn't either." Axel glared at Roxas, who glared right back. Then, and Axel would never remember who broke first, they both started laughing. What got Axel laughing at first was the totally random thought that, at that moment, Roxas looked like little angry _kitten_. When he got over that he had calmed down enough to think that, looked at from a certain point of view, the situation _was_ funny. Marluxia and Larxene would have a field day with this if they found out. Not that Axel would ever tell them.

"Okay, since we're both such geniuses, why don't we go check now?" Roxas managed to get out after they'd both pulled themselves together. He pointed to an open door down the hall. "The computer lab should be open—it's where I was going when I found you."

Axel nodded. "So, what's your story?" He asked as they begain to walk.

Roxas snorted. "Story, right. How about you go first." Axel opened his mouth to protest but Roxas shot him a pointed Look. "Hey, I gave you a ride here. You owe me."

So, while they waited for the computers, and then email, to log them in Axel explained how he'd overslept, the car had died, and been going to email—"Hey wait a second. If I hadn't run into you, I would have seen the email and known there was no class." By then his email had uploaded and, sure enough, there was the notification about Day of Gracious Living, along with an email from his professor saying that they could hand in their papers during the next class period. Damn. If he'd just made it back to his apartment and his computer he would have known…

"Maybe, but I'd still be here." Roxas pointed out quietly, cutting into his thoughts. "I'd been editing something for Creative Writing right up until time to leave."

Axel gave the matter some thought as they walked out of the building and back to the car. If he'd known that class was cancelled, he wouldn't have been looking for a ride and found Roxas. Hell he hadn't even known before today that Roxas lived in his building. Then again, even if he had known, he might not have said anything. It wasn't like they were actually friends, though Axel was thinking he wouldn't mind changing that. The kid seemed okay, in spite of his willingness to get into arguments with strangers who'd just bummed a ride off of him. Not that Axel could talk, what with his willingness to bum rides off strangers and then vent to them.

The ride back home was more relaxed with Roxas a little more willing to talk to him. The kid actually seemed interested in the fact that Axel was graduating in a few weeks with a Theatre Arts major—if he could make it through this semester. Roxas was taking a Shakespeare-as-lit course in the fall, so he wanted to know if Axel had taken it. Since Axel had, he warned Roxas about which prof to avoid and gave his opinion that the class was okay, but reading plays is nothing to seeing them on stage.

When they got back to the apartment building, Axel was once again faced with his car problem. He was spared having to ask for Roxas's help again when the kid himself offered. Seeing Axel's surprised look, he laughed. "You dealt with my attitude earlier. Consider this a thank you for that."

"Right. It's not like you don't have any plans today or anything." Axel grinned.

Roxas tried jump-starting the car, which worked, surprisingly. Then he followed Axel down to the shop and waited with him while the people there determined that yes, a new battery was needed. Not wanting to wait at the shop for the amount of time replacing it would take and realizing that he hadn't eaten all day and was hungry, Axel offered to treat Roxas to lunch. When Roxas tried to say he didn't have to, Axel grinned. "You're ferrying me around and you'll probably end up listening to me bitch about how much this is going to cost me. Consider this a thank you for that." He mimicked Roxas's words earlier.

They end up spending hours at Panera, talking about most anything and everything. Axel decided that his hunch from earlier was right: Roxas was okay. He didn't seem to like to be the only one talking, turning questions back on Axel, but that was a nice change from people that only want to hear themselves. He also didn't give his opinion too easily, but that was okay. Axel liked the challenge of trying to figure him out. What he did say let Axel to think he was smart, if maybe a little inexperienced.

This on his mind, Axel took advantage of a rare quiet moment to look, really look at the kid, and study him. Roxas wasn't very tall, maybe about a head shorter than Axel, more compact and muscular (though Axel was no weakling himself). He had blond hair that, while short, was long enough to achieve a mussed-up look that would make Harry Potter jealous, and big blue eyes—almost a sapphire color, and definitely his most noticeable feature. The overall effect was that he looked younger than he was, but used right that could be to his advantage; surprise people with what he could do. Mulling over what he'd seen that day, Axel decided that Roxas must be an athlete of some kind. It was in the way he moved, like he was comfortable in his own skin and confident that he could take care of himself. And, Axel thought with a smile, Roxas had a nice laugh; nice voice too, when he wasn't pissed.

"Do I want to know why you're smiling while staring at me?" The voice Axel had just thought of as nice broke into his thoughts. Roxas sounded amused, though the look in his eyes was a bit wary, guarded.

Axel gave his best reassuring smile (not too reassuring, granted, but it would have to do). "Just trying to figure you out."

Roxas snorted. "Didn't know you were a psych major too."

"Nah. Too much Freud."

Then Axel's cell phone rang and it was the shop, saying that they were finished and he needed to come pick up the car. So they threw away their trash and headed back to the shop. Just before he got out of the car, Axel grabbed Roxas's cell phone from where it sat in a little nook under the radio/CD player. "What the hell—" Roxas started but Axel held up a hand to stop him

"Relax, I'm just giving you my number. Give me a call if you want to hang out sometime." He grinned, replacing the phone then getting out of the car.

Roxas's face reddened a little, then he scowled like he was trying to look upset at possibly being hit on. Axel didn't laugh (though he wanted to), just waved as Roxas drove off.

Two days later, he was sitting on the quad, in the middle of telling Demyx about what had happened (and Demyx was laughing his ass off) when his text message ringtone sounded. The number wasn't one he knew, but he opened the message on a hunch.

_Turn around_.

Turn around he did. Roxas was standing a few yards away, mouth quirking up at the corners. Axel waved him over.

Yeah, Lady Luck could be a conniving bitch, but sometimes, just sometimes, she wasn't totally heartless.

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Authors Notes: "Day of Gracious Living" was the term for a mental health day we got every spring where I went to undergrad, thus it's use here. 

No, I don't have permission to use Panera Bread Company's name here, but no harm intended.


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